Monday, October 04, 2010

Great news for student transit - Guelph/Hamilton

Service that was dropped by Canada Coach between Guelph and Hamilton has been picked up by Aboutown Transportation! Looks like two trips a day, avoiding the grueling, out of the way route that became the substitute for direct service. Guelph bound folks: does this work for you? Let us know!

New bus service links Hamilton, Guelph

GUELPH — Daily bus service between Guelph and Hamilton is running again.
London-based carrier Aboutown Transportation Ltd. began providing twice-daily service between the University of Guelph and downtown Hamilton Monday
There has been no regular service between the two cities since Coach Canada cancelled its service last year.
Those brave enough to make the trip with GO or Greyhound have had to detour through Toronto, taking up to four hours and paying up to $46 to cover 52 kilometres.
There has never been rail service between the two hubs.
Ian Weir, the University of Guelph’s manager of parking and transportation says he was “delighted” at the news.
“This new service will fill a gap in our connectivity with the regions south of Guelph,” he said.
Coach Canada service expanded in 2008 to five trips daily and prompted the university to renovate its transit loop to accommodate the increase.
That’s why many were shocked when the company abruptly dropped its service in last October, one month after students, many of them from Hamilton, had returned to class.
The company said its hand was forced to act after ridership dropped to an average of 11 passengers.
“You are not even covering the cost of the fuel,” Coach Canada spokesperson Brian Morehouse said at the time.
Starting Monday, Hamilton-bound buses will leave from the south end of the University of Guelph’s transit loop at 6 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each day, arriving at Hamilton’s GO Terminal and McMaster University about an hour later. Return buses will depart Hamilton at 7:25 a.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the University Centre on campus. The Guelph Mercury